The Downloadable Revelation - "Can one take the Quran-loaded mobile device into a bathroom, an “impure” place in which the analog analog is forbidden? And is there any place more impure than the interior of one’s iPhone, where the bytes of the digital surahs can commingle with Lady Gaga’s or Nancy Arjam’s bits on video?"

The so called 'Islamic Golden Age': Was it really Islamic? - "The so called ‘Islamic Golden Age’ was all about the success of some Muslim-born freethinkers during the period of liberal freethinking Caliphs of Abbasid dynasty... The above brief life stories of the greatest luminaries of the so called Islamic civilization or Arab civilization clearly established/disclosed one bitter truth for those wishful Islamists and that is all of the medieval luminaries except Imam al-Ghazali were either not so good Muslims or even atheists... According to the American Thinker, Dr. Jonathan David Carson, "The 'Islamic scholars' who translated 'ancient Greece's natural philosophy' were a curious group of Muslims, since all or almost all of the translators from Greek to Arabic were Christians or Jews... What was the ideology of Mu’tazila which actually opened the window for rational thinkers? The defining philosophy of Mu’tazila was freewill, rationalism and scientific thoughtwhich was rooted in the Hellenic-age Greek philosophy. Mu’tazila ideology was greatly promoted during Abbasid Caliphate (8-13th century) but after that Islamic re-incarnation by Ahadiths collection by Muslim al –hajjaj, al-Bukhari, Abu daud, al-Timidi and rise of islamic zealots by the leadership of Imam Ghazali put the final nail to the coffin of defeated Mu’tazillites—leading to the end of enlightenment during 13th century and subsequently rise of Islamic devoutness (darkness of close minds and superstitions) in the Islamic world, which ended the so called Islamic Golden Age for good."

The Same God? A Plea for Precision - "the basic problem is this: the question “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” is ambiguous as it stands, and thus susceptible to different answers depending on exactly how one interprets the question. In reality, when people raise the question they often end up conflating a host of related but distinct questions... I’ve seen some people argue that if two people disagree about the essential attributes or intrinsic properties of X, then those two people can’t be referring to the same X. But in that case it would follow that Calvinists and Arminians don’t worship the same God."

The net effect of smoking on healthcare and welfare costs. A cohort study - "Smoking was associated with a greater mean annual healthcare cost of €1600 per living individual during follow-up. However, due to a shorter lifespan of 8.6 years, smokers’ mean total healthcare costs during the entire study period were actually €4700 lower than for non-smokers. For the same reason, each smoker missed 7.3 years (€126 850) of pension. Overall, smokers’ average net contribution to the public finance balance was €133 800 greater per individual compared with non-smokers"Encouraging smoking can lower healthcare and pension costs and combat an ageing population

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Review - "The Force Awakens doesn’t take us to familiar locations from the original films, but that’s a formality. The desert planet of Jakku is Tatooine in all but name. The Resistance base isn’t on Yavin IV, but you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. Space pirate/Yoda figure Maz Kanata lives in the jungle temple this time, and Starkiller Base itself is kinda Hoth-y. There’s a cantina and a bad guy base with deep trenches and no guardrails. While The Force Awakens feels like the Original Trilogy in design and spirit it misses one of the things that made the OT magical in the moment - a sense of discovery from film to film, a universe that constantly showed us new weird things. The Force Awakenscontains little that’s original, just familiar elements slightly remixed. At least when it comes to story. When it comes to character The Force Awakens delivers on a massive level... Like Star Trek 2009,The Force Awakens exists best in the moment when you’re watching it, and is not well served by any sort of deep thought or analysis or consideration... while the aerial battles are well done they felt essentially uninspired - the last duel is perhaps second best in the whole seven film series (say what you will about the Prequels but that Darth Maul fight is an all-timer)"

Lettuce Produces More Greenhouse Gas Emissions Per Calorie Than Bacon Does - "on a per-calorie basis, many fruits, vegetables, dairy and seafood—the foods the USDA pushes in the guidelines over sugary processed food and fats—are relatively resource-intensive, the study finds. Lettuce, for example, produces three times more greenhouse gas emissions than bacon... fruits have the largest water and energy footprint per calorie. Meat and seafood have the highest greenhouse gas emissions per calorie... That's not to say all vegetables are bad. Onions, okra, carrots, broccoli and Brussels sprouts all have decent environmental footprints. Lettuce, on the other hand, is difficult to grow, harvest and transport. It requires significant amounts of water and energy to produce.. even though it seems counterintuitive, the best diet for the environment would be terrible for a person's health... "If you totally forget health, which diet would have best impact on the environment?" Fischbeck asked. "You'd eat a lot more fats and sugars.""Addendum: This also comes in the form of Vegetarian and 'healthy' diets may actually be worse for the environment, study finds

Carrie Fisher Calls Controversy Over Princess Leia Bikini Toys 'Stupid' - ""I got two daughters I don’t need seeing that crap,” he said, according to the Mary Sue. In her WSJ interview, Fisher seemed to reference that particular segment. "I think that’s stupid," she said. "The father who flipped out about it, 'What am I going to tell my kid about why she’s in that outfit?' Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage.""

Gallipoli Travel Guide - Anzac Hotel Canakkale Turkey - "Bayraklı Baba is known as a votive area. Bayraklı Baba is a place for those who want to own a home, who want to get married, or students who want to finish school first that comes to mind for every conceivable kind wishes. People hang to the flag for a votive offering about their wishes. Bayraklı Baba is the most visited attractions of Turkey. Bayraklı Baba's real name is Karaca Bey who was bold sailor at the Ottoman navy. He is died in the war with the Byzantine fleet in 1410 at Marmara Yassıada, together with the flag of the hand. He buried in Gallipoli where the Navy's center and his tomb was equipped with flags upon his testament. Bayraklı Baba is known Karacabey that causes a story in the following way: "Karacabey, surrounded by the enemy with his friends, who are prisoners who died. Karaca Bey resisted with the flag in the hands against the enemy. If he is imprisoned, they will be led captive into the hands of the enemy's flag,He didn't want to pass into the hands of the enemy of our flag. At that moment an idea comes to his mind. He divides the flag into small pieces, and swallows, then attack the enemy, wounded and falls to the ground. He found to be injured by his friends, they asked him, swallowed up in order not to lead the enemy says. Commander does not believe in these words. Karacabey who is one of the honest and brave person, he proved it with a sharp blade with blood on his belly comes out of the belly benefits and swallowed pieces of the flag. He proves the truth of happiness and falls down. His last words were "I do not skimp on my grave never flag". Since that day, the flag won't be missing the tomb."

Painkiller rip-off: Pills for migraine, period pain, backache 'are identical' - Telegraph - "Nurofen offers different packs of branded drugs depending on whether the buyer is suffering from migraines, period pains, tension headaches or back pain... a court in Australia ruled that the products should be removed from the shelves there after finding that, apart from the packaging, all the targeted pills were identical to each other... Separately an investigation by the consumer group found that the Nurofen "targeted" tablets contained the same drugs, in the same quantities, as pharmacy and supermarket own-brand versions that were a third of the price... The fine print even showed that the products carried the same marketing authorisation, called a product licence number. “This means they are the same, but the licence allows it to be sold under different names”... A spokesman said the case is related “to Australia only” and was not applicable to Britain. However, the spokesman conceded that the drugs on sale in the UK are identical to those in Australia."Generics ftw!!

Driving instructors 'may offer lessons in return for sex', Netherlands government confirms - Telegraph - "The government in the Netherlands has clarified that it is legal for driving instructors to offer lessons in return for sex, as long as the students are over the age of 18. However, it is illegal to offer sex in return for lessons... "It's not about offering sexual activities for remuneration, but offering a driving lesson. It is important that the initiative lies with the driving instructor, and focuses on offering a driving lesson, with the payment provided in sexual acts. When a sexual act offered in lieu of financial payment, that is prostitution." It's been noted that web searches for driving lessons in exchange for sex, or 'a ride for a ride' as the practice has been dubbed, have recently increased in popularity."

The Colorful History of Kickapoo Joy Juice - "Kickapoo Joy Drinks have made comeback in the U.S. market with the addition of more great flavors, new packaging options and versatile distribution channels. Kickapoo Joy Juice is a citrus-flavored soda inspired by Al Capp’s comic strip “Li’l Abner,” which appeared in US newspapers from 1934 to 1977.... Kickapoo is the first brand Monarch introduced in international markets. It was launched in Southeast Asia in 1966 and has been delighting consumers ever since. Today Kickapoo has become the #1 heavy citrus brand in Malaysia and Singapore thanks to its superior taste. In those countries, the brand now challenges Sprite and 7Up for market leadership after colas. Kickapoo contains caffeine. The amount of caffeine will, in general, be superior to the amount present in leading cola brands."Wah, it's returned to the US. What's a "heavy citrus" brand?

40 Unforgivable Plot Holes in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' - "Why can't we just admit that BB-8 is adorable, Finn is hilarious, Rey is badass, seeing Han and Chewie again was awesome, the special effects were tremendous, Poe is Soloesque, Kylo Ren is intriguing, and this movie makes absolutely no sense whatsoever?"

20 More Plot Holes in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' - "while I loved the film, I'd found in it so many plot holes that I'd felt compelled to do something I'd only ever done one other time -- for the second film in the Hobbit series -- which is compile a list of plot holes."

The Downloadable Revelation - "Can one take the Quran-loaded mobile device into a bathroom, an “impure” place in which the analog analog is forbidden? And is there any place more impure than the interior of one’s iPhone, where the bytes of the digital surahs can commingle with Lady Gaga’s or Nancy Arjam’s bits on video?"

The so called 'Islamic Golden Age': Was it really Islamic? - "The so called ‘Islamic Golden Age’ was all about the success of some Muslim-born freethinkers during the period of liberal freethinking Caliphs of Abbasid dynasty... The above brief life stories of the greatest luminaries of the so called Islamic civilization or Arab civilization clearly established/disclosed one bitter truth for those wishful Islamists and that is all of the medieval luminaries except Imam al-Ghazali were either not so good Muslims or even atheists... According to the American Thinker, Dr. Jonathan David Carson, "The 'Islamic scholars' who translated 'ancient Greece's natural philosophy' were a curious group of Muslims, since all or almost all of the translators from Greek to Arabic were Christians or Jews... What was the ideology of Mu’tazila which actually opened the window for rational thinkers? The defining philosophy of Mu’tazila was freewill, rationalism and scientific thoughtwhich was rooted in the Hellenic-age Greek philosophy. Mu’tazila ideology was greatly promoted during Abbasid Caliphate (8-13th century) but after that Islamic re-incarnation by Ahadiths collection by Muslim al –hajjaj, al-Bukhari, Abu daud, al-Timidi and rise of islamic zealots by the leadership of Imam Ghazali put the final nail to the coffin of defeated Mu’tazillites—leading to the end of enlightenment during 13th century and subsequently rise of Islamic devoutness (darkness of close minds and superstitions) in the Islamic world, which ended the so called Islamic Golden Age for good."

The Same God? A Plea for Precision - "the basic problem is this: the question “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” is ambiguous as it stands, and thus susceptible to different answers depending on exactly how one interprets the question. In reality, when people raise the question they often end up conflating a host of related but distinct questions... I’ve seen some people argue that if two people disagree about the essential attributes or intrinsic properties of X, then those two people can’t be referring to the same X. But in that case it would follow that Calvinists and Arminians don’t worship the same God."

The net effect of smoking on healthcare and welfare costs. A cohort study - "Smoking was associated with a greater mean annual healthcare cost of €1600 per living individual during follow-up. However, due to a shorter lifespan of 8.6 years, smokers’ mean total healthcare costs during the entire study period were actually €4700 lower than for non-smokers. For the same reason, each smoker missed 7.3 years (€126 850) of pension. Overall, smokers’ average net contribution to the public finance balance was €133 800 greater per individual compared with non-smokers"Encouraging smoking can lower healthcare and pension costs and combat an ageing population

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Review - "The Force Awakens doesn’t take us to familiar locations from the original films, but that’s a formality. The desert planet of Jakku is Tatooine in all but name. The Resistance base isn’t on Yavin IV, but you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. Space pirate/Yoda figure Maz Kanata lives in the jungle temple this time, and Starkiller Base itself is kinda Hoth-y. There’s a cantina and a bad guy base with deep trenches and no guardrails. While The Force Awakens feels like the Original Trilogy in design and spirit it misses one of the things that made the OT magical in the moment - a sense of discovery from film to film, a universe that constantly showed us new weird things. The Force Awakenscontains little that’s original, just familiar elements slightly remixed. At least when it comes to story. When it comes to character The Force Awakens delivers on a massive level... Like Star Trek 2009,The Force Awakens exists best in the moment when you’re watching it, and is not well served by any sort of deep thought or analysis or consideration... while the aerial battles are well done they felt essentially uninspired - the last duel is perhaps second best in the whole seven film series (say what you will about the Prequels but that Darth Maul fight is an all-timer)"

Lettuce Produces More Greenhouse Gas Emissions Per Calorie Than Bacon Does - "on a per-calorie basis, many fruits, vegetables, dairy and seafood—the foods the USDA pushes in the guidelines over sugary processed food and fats—are relatively resource-intensive, the study finds. Lettuce, for example, produces three times more greenhouse gas emissions than bacon... fruits have the largest water and energy footprint per calorie. Meat and seafood have the highest greenhouse gas emissions per calorie... That's not to say all vegetables are bad. Onions, okra, carrots, broccoli and Brussels sprouts all have decent environmental footprints. Lettuce, on the other hand, is difficult to grow, harvest and transport. It requires significant amounts of water and energy to produce.. even though it seems counterintuitive, the best diet for the environment would be terrible for a person's health... "If you totally forget health, which diet would have best impact on the environment?" Fischbeck asked. "You'd eat a lot more fats and sugars.""Addendum: This also comes in the form of Vegetarian and 'healthy' diets may actually be worse for the environment, study finds

Carrie Fisher Calls Controversy Over Princess Leia Bikini Toys 'Stupid' - ""I got two daughters I don’t need seeing that crap,” he said, according to the Mary Sue. In her WSJ interview, Fisher seemed to reference that particular segment. "I think that’s stupid," she said. "The father who flipped out about it, 'What am I going to tell my kid about why she’s in that outfit?' Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage.""

Gallipoli Travel Guide - Anzac Hotel Canakkale Turkey - "Bayraklı Baba is known as a votive area. Bayraklı Baba is a place for those who want to own a home, who want to get married, or students who want to finish school first that comes to mind for every conceivable kind wishes. People hang to the flag for a votive offering about their wishes. Bayraklı Baba is the most visited attractions of Turkey. Bayraklı Baba's real name is Karaca Bey who was bold sailor at the Ottoman navy. He is died in the war with the Byzantine fleet in 1410 at Marmara Yassıada, together with the flag of the hand. He buried in Gallipoli where the Navy's center and his tomb was equipped with flags upon his testament. Bayraklı Baba is known Karacabey that causes a story in the following way: "Karacabey, surrounded by the enemy with his friends, who are prisoners who died. Karaca Bey resisted with the flag in the hands against the enemy. If he is imprisoned, they will be led captive into the hands of the enemy's flag,He didn't want to pass into the hands of the enemy of our flag. At that moment an idea comes to his mind. He divides the flag into small pieces, and swallows, then attack the enemy, wounded and falls to the ground. He found to be injured by his friends, they asked him, swallowed up in order not to lead the enemy says. Commander does not believe in these words. Karacabey who is one of the honest and brave person, he proved it with a sharp blade with blood on his belly comes out of the belly benefits and swallowed pieces of the flag. He proves the truth of happiness and falls down. His last words were "I do not skimp on my grave never flag". Since that day, the flag won't be missing the tomb."

Painkiller rip-off: Pills for migraine, period pain, backache 'are identical' - Telegraph - "Nurofen offers different packs of branded drugs depending on whether the buyer is suffering from migraines, period pains, tension headaches or back pain... a court in Australia ruled that the products should be removed from the shelves there after finding that, apart from the packaging, all the targeted pills were identical to each other... Separately an investigation by the consumer group found that the Nurofen "targeted" tablets contained the same drugs, in the same quantities, as pharmacy and supermarket own-brand versions that were a third of the price... The fine print even showed that the products carried the same marketing authorisation, called a product licence number. “This means they are the same, but the licence allows it to be sold under different names”... A spokesman said the case is related “to Australia only” and was not applicable to Britain. However, the spokesman conceded that the drugs on sale in the UK are identical to those in Australia."Generics ftw!!

Driving instructors 'may offer lessons in return for sex', Netherlands government confirms - Telegraph - "The government in the Netherlands has clarified that it is legal for driving instructors to offer lessons in return for sex, as long as the students are over the age of 18. However, it is illegal to offer sex in return for lessons... "It's not about offering sexual activities for remuneration, but offering a driving lesson. It is important that the initiative lies with the driving instructor, and focuses on offering a driving lesson, with the payment provided in sexual acts. When a sexual act offered in lieu of financial payment, that is prostitution." It's been noted that web searches for driving lessons in exchange for sex, or 'a ride for a ride' as the practice has been dubbed, have recently increased in popularity."

The Colorful History of Kickapoo Joy Juice - "Kickapoo Joy Drinks have made comeback in the U.S. market with the addition of more great flavors, new packaging options and versatile distribution channels. Kickapoo Joy Juice is a citrus-flavored soda inspired by Al Capp’s comic strip “Li’l Abner,” which appeared in US newspapers from 1934 to 1977.... Kickapoo is the first brand Monarch introduced in international markets. It was launched in Southeast Asia in 1966 and has been delighting consumers ever since. Today Kickapoo has become the #1 heavy citrus brand in Malaysia and Singapore thanks to its superior taste. In those countries, the brand now challenges Sprite and 7Up for market leadership after colas. Kickapoo contains caffeine. The amount of caffeine will, in general, be superior to the amount present in leading cola brands."Wah, it's returned to the US. What's a "heavy citrus" brand?

40 Unforgivable Plot Holes in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' - "Why can't we just admit that BB-8 is adorable, Finn is hilarious, Rey is badass, seeing Han and Chewie again was awesome, the special effects were tremendous, Poe is Soloesque, Kylo Ren is intriguing, and this movie makes absolutely no sense whatsoever?"

20 More Plot Holes in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' - "while I loved the film, I'd found in it so many plot holes that I'd felt compelled to do something I'd only ever done one other time -- for the second film in the Hobbit series -- which is compile a list of plot holes."